Work Text:
Stained
Chapter 1
5-24-43 Moscow, Russia
I have been watching the KGB headquarters for days. That slime, Ivan Somorodov, still hasn't shown his face. I know he's been trying to mend ties with the KGB ever since his precious Krasnya Komnata went up in smoke. Suddenly, I get activity on my computer. Ivan has just sent out an email to a KGB agent somewhere in the building. There are eyes watching headquarters. Meet me in New York for business. I am collecting assets there. Further instructions will follow. -Ivan I huff in frustration. I can't believe this. How could he have made me? How is it this hard to catch the bastard who took me from my family? I look around to see who could have tipped him off. Suddenly, I notice a tech guy looking nonchalant while trying to slip out of the building. I sigh and get out of the van I had been in. As soon as I step out, he freezes and turns slowly toward me, then he takes off running. I take off after him, taking off my long duster to reveal my Red Room suit. As much as I hated Ivan, he had good taste in fashion. I vault over a café table and tap my shoes. They transform into mag-locked roller skates, and I quickly overtake him. In desperation, he turns down an alleyway, cornering himself in the process. He turns around with a panicked look in his eyes and chokes out, "Wh-who are you!" I smile and say, "My name is Mayday Parker, and I have some questions for you."
Chapter 2
A day before
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP I slowly peel my sleep mask off my eyes. I turn toward my alarm clock which is beeping like crazy and shoot a web, hitting the snooze button. "Babe?", MJ whispers, sighing as she opens her eyes. "Sorry MJ, I'll silence it." I sigh, and move to turn the alarm clock off. "No, I mean don't you have work today?" She asks. "SHI…", I start to say but then I see my daughter's picture on the wall. It's hard to pretend she's still here but it comforts me. "Sorry Mayday, I mean SHOOT I HAVE TO GET TO WORK". I leap out of bed and start pulling on clothes. I stumble into the living room and start pouring myself cereal while scrolling through the AMBER alert news page. Something wet drips on my shoe and I realize I have been overflowing the bowl with milk. "DANG IT!" I exclaim as I go to grab towels. By the time I finish cleaning up the milk and get out the door I've missed my train. Thankfully there are ways to get places other than rails when you’re a friendly neighborhood Spiderman. I pull my mask over my head and swing past the train station as the 6-o-clock train leaves the station. I land on top of the train and try to finish my bowl of cereal while riding it to the Daily Bugle. I walk into the Daily Bugle's office mentally preparing myself for the lecture I'm about to get. I walk past the desk clerk Betty Brant who smirks and says, "Mr. Jameson is ready to see you now." I start to enter the work office when I hear loudly, "WHERE IS PARKER! 5 MINUTES LATE! I SHOULD FIRE HIM AND GET A COMPETENT EMPLOYEE!" I walk into his office, with a smirk on my face. "Hi Mr. Jameson sorry I'm late". "SIT DOWN PARKER", he bellows taking his seat. "If you don't get me ground breaking pictures of Spiderman within the day, YOUR FIRED! Do I make myself clear!" "Yes Sir", I say, wincing. "GET OUT OF MY OFFICE PARKER!" I bolt out of the room, "Yes SIR!" Several hours later ZERO crime has happened! I mean zilch, nada, nothing! I was to the point of getting ready to take selfies of myself for Jameson when I heard a scream. FINALLY!! I swung down from my perch on some old lady's fire escape, and headed toward the action. When I arrived at the scene there seemed to be several women in suits that kind of looked like my pal Black Widow's, (We dated a couple decades back and she let me try it on, surprisingly comfy!) that were pulling a teenage girl into an unmarked black van. I swung down and said, "Hey don't you need a license for that? I heard on the news that kidnapping in the state of New York requires a permit." One of the women turned and looked at me. "You can't stop us Spiderman we wi-." "Hold on a sec," I interrupt. "Say CHEESE!!" And proceeded to take a picture of the surprised kidnappers with my camera. "Hey!" One protested. "You can't do that in the middle of a monologue! "Oh I'm sorry please continue," I say. As she tries to begin again I shoot a web that grabs the syringe that she held in her hand. I couldn't let her stick the girl with whatever was in it. "OK that’s it!" She yells. "New Yorkers are soo rude!" then the girl on the right shoots an energy blast at my face. "OK now that's not nice" I say, flipping backward as my spider-sense twinges. A few webs later, along with some brief dialogue, and the perps are hanging upside down from a lamp post. As I start to walk away one of the kidnappers quietly says, "We know where your friend Parker lives, we won't be in jail forever. The Red Room always remembers."
Chapter 3
On a plane to New York from Moscow.
I sigh and start looking at New York web pages. I had been planning to head to New York anyway. It had been the first thing I had planned to do once I killed Ivan, so I was excited. Ivan had let it slip once when he was telling me why the only people who wanted me were the Red Room, that I came from New York. I typed up Parker in the search bar. The first thing that came up was an article by a newspaper called The Daily Bugle. Apparently, a man named Peter Parker is notorious for taking pictures of a masked hero called Spiderman. I look up the address that Peter Parker lives in and see that he’s married. Curious, I look at the AMBER alert web page and type up 'Mayday Parker'. As the page loads, I look around at the passengers on the plane. A mom with a screaming child, a man in a business suit, a girl with an hourglass tattooed on her shoulder, a stewardess coming around with crackers, a.. Wait, a girl with an hourglass tattoo? I look back to where she'd been sitting. She’s gone! I start looking around, but then I feel something poke my back from behind the seat. A girl whispers in my ear, "Ivan wants to talk to you." I slowly get up, and she takes my arm, keeping the gun pressed against my back, and professionally whisks me to the back room of the plane. I am patted down, and then another girl (more were in the back room) sets down a laptop. The screen flickers on. "Ah, my 'zlyushchaya devchonka', it's been a while." I scowl at Ivan's sadistic face on the screen. "Save yourself the pain, Ivan, and tell me where you are so I can kill you quicker." "Ah, you see," he said, smiling at me. "Zlyushchaya." I scowl harder and try to loosen the zip tie around my wrists. "Sadly, I'm afraid I can't have you following me around anymore." He grimaces, "Kill her." As a girl grabs a pillow and wrestles me to the ground, I say, "Ivan, wait!" He turns around. "Any last words?" "Yes", I reply while working a knife out of a slot in my bracelet. "I wanted to ask you, why did you take me? Out of all the young girls in New York, you chose me. Why?" He pauses, "Let's just say that you have VERY special DNA. I look forward to running tests on your corpse. Anything else you want to say? "Yeah," I say. "Go to ad." Then I lunge with my miniature knife, pulling a girl in front of me with my knife pressed against her carotid artery. The other girl raises her gun, but I caution, "If you fire that in this small of a space, you could puncture the plane and kill all of us." She slowly lowers her gun. I start to back up as the plane lands. As soon as I disembark, I slam my hostage into the wall and start running.
Chapter 4
Parker residence, Upper East Side, Manhattan
I burst into my house. "MJ!", I call out. "You here?" She shouts something back from the kitchen. I walk into the kitchen as she sets a pan on fire. "AH", I exclaim and move to get the fire extinguisher, then I notice MJ's laughing. "What?" I ask as she chuckles. "I'm making flambé, silly!" she laughs. "Oh", I try to smile. "Listen, MJ, I.." My spider sense flares like crazy. "DUCK!" I yell and push her aside as a bullet narrowly misses me. I see a car screech out of the driveway and bend down to check on MJ. "We need to go into hiding," I say. "Just for a little while." MJ stands up, looking shaken, "OK," she breathes, "we can do that". I call Jameson and try to explain why I can't come to work any time soon. "DON’T GIVE ME CRAP PARKER", he yells over the phone. "YOU JUST WANT TIME OFF!" "Mr. Jameson, someone took a shot at my wife and me," I explain. "WHAT", Jameson bellows. "NO ONE TAKES A SHOT AT MY EMPLOYEES AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!" I hear him faintly yelling at other people to put this on the front page. I start to object, but then he hangs up. "Oh well", I sigh. Several hours later, we step out of a taxi in front of the Avengers tower. I step into my room with MJ, careful not to trip any alarms. I had never used the room much; it was more of a formality. "You'll be safe here, love," I say. "I need to talk to a friend anyway." I try calling Black Widow, but she is apparently in Moscow tracking an elusive criminal. Then I try Hawkeye, buut he's in Hawaii on vacation with his family and won't take calls. I slump, there's ONE last person I could call. I dial the Winter Soldier’s number. It rings twice, then someone answers. "This is the Winter Soldier. I'm unavailable right now, but leave a message, and I will kill... I mean, get back to you at my earliest opportunity. BEEP." 'Barnes,' I say grouchily. "This isn't funny." "Okay fine,' he says dropping the act. "What do you want". "What do you know about a Red Room operation being run in New York?" I ask. He pauses, "Where are you in New York?" I frown, "The Avengers tower, Why?" "Me and Widow have been tracking this rogue Red Room agent all the way from Sweden to Germany to Moscow. And we just found out where she's headed and what her name is…" He pauses, "Peter, her name is-." Right as he's about to reveal the agents name, my phone dies and the power goes out. "NO NO NO!" I try to turn it back on but can't. I hear a loud "DANG IT" coming from Tony's work room downstairs. I walk down the stairs and look at Tony Stark as he yells at his robot fire extinguisher who had sprayed him with fire suppressant. "It was JUST AN EMP!! Not the LONDON FIRE!!" Without knocking, I ask, "How much of New York's grid did you knock out this time?" He sighs, "1/3 of it". I walk away disappointed and decide to head back home and watch the house to see who pokes around. I really hope I get a lead soon, I think. Jameson won't give me leave forever.
Chapter 5
In a taxi somewhere in New York
I sigh as the taxi drives me to the Upper East Side, Manhattan. Who would have thought that New York would be so messy? There was no sense of order to it. At least there was good pizza here. The taxi pulls up to the address that I had on Parker. I get out and pay the driver, and look around. There is something eerie about the place. The lights are off, and there are tire marks out in the parking lot. Like someone had driven away fast. I walk up to the door and knock, but no one answers. I take off my coat, which was covering my suit, pull on a mask, and begin to pick the lock. The lock is way more sophisticated than I would expect on a regular house, but I bypass it fairly quickly. I open the door and slip in. The living room looks messy and has several chairs tipped over. I walk into the kitchen and look around at all of the disheveled things. Then I turn and notice a bullet hole in the window. I look around a little more before walking into the bedroom. It is smallish, but has a homey look to it. I spot a picture lying on the nightstand. There is a little girl, looking to be about 3 years old, smiling in it. That coincidentally looks a lot like me. I open a drawer that has several things that look like junk, but with further examination, turn out to be small pieces of technology. In the drawer with the tech is a paper with instructions for making some kind of chemical. I stuff the paper in my pocket to look at later, and continue rifling through drawers. Just then, as I reach to open another drawer, my hand gets hit by this sticky material. My hand flies back and sticks to the wall. I turn surprised, and see a figure in red and blue spandex crouched on the windowsill. "Don't you know that breaking and entering isn't covered by insurance?" he quips. "But I didn't break anything." I argue, "I just entered." "Not relevant," he says. "Now, why don't you just tell me why the Red Room's in New York and we'll call it even." I smirk under the mask, "You know less than you think, I don't WORK for the Red Room… anymore," I mutter under my breath. "Then why are you here in a standard issue suit and widow blasters breaking into someone's apartment?" he asks skeptically. "Because I'm here to find Peter Parker." I explain, "Have you seen him? I know he takes your pictures for the Daily Bugle." He stiffens, "No, sorry. Last I heard, he went into hiding with his wife because the Red Room took a shot at him." "We'll, then, I guess that you'd better pull this web off my hand since I didn't do anything." "Oh sure," he jumps down from the window and walks toward me. Once he pulls the web off my hand, I stumble into him. "Oops, sorry about that". As he begins to respond, I quickly stab him with a needle containing a pink solution I had in my boot. As he falls down, I check to make sure that it was the right one. Thank goodness it was just a tranquillizer and not cyanide. I look down at the masked figure at my feet. He was going to tell me where my family was. I know it.
Chapter 6
In an abandoned warehouse… somewhere
"Ughhhh…" I blink slowly, coming to consciousness. I try to open my eyes slowly, but then I have a sudden dizziness. I try to move my arms, but they're fastened behind my back by some sort of metal cuffing. I finally manage to open my eyes. The girl from my house is standing in front of me with her mask still on. "What was that?", I manage to croak out. "Sodium Pentothal, don't worry, it's temporary. The dizziness will wear off soon." I grimace, fighting down another level of nausea, "Who are you?" She takes off her mask, and my mind twitches like there's something familiar about her. I'm here to talk to Peter Parker. You obviously know more than you said; anyone could see it in your face." I wince, "Peter Who? Sorry, I didn't catch that last part." She sighs, "You know I could either stick you with Scopolamine and take off your mask, OR I could just torture you without the Scopolamine!" I bite my lip and ask, "Is there a third option? Also, what IS Scopolamine?" She smirks, "Truth Serum. Your third option is we just wait here, and you get tired of sitting in that chair and tell me what I want to know." I sigh, "I'll take that one". She smiles, "That works. I have things I have to do anyway." "Such as?" I ask. "Eating lunch, committing murder, interviewing Parker's Boss… I'm really busy. AND I want to try out the toys I found in Parker's house!" She pulls out my spare web shooter from her pocket. I stare, SHOOT, I think. "I'll mess with this later," she says, setting the web shooter down. As she begins tapping her phone, I look closer at her. She has long red hair like MJ's and brown eyes like mine and.. Wait, why am I comparing her to me and MJ? "Hey," I say, trying to get her attention. "What?"
"Are you going to tell me where Parker is already?" she asks, looking disappointed. "No, but I want to hear about you. How did you escape the Red Room? Where are you from?" She considers it, "OK, I'll tell you my life story. BUT no interrupting!" "Okay", I promise, and she begins. "I was 3 when I was taken from my family, here in New York. Growing up in the Red Room is brutal. When I was 4, I could unload and reload a gun in 3 seconds. When I turned 5, I could take down a grown man at least 5 ways. Once I was 6, I had a black belt in almost every known martial art. By 7, I was shooting bullseyes at practice dummies. By 9, I was shooting live targets, mostly small animals. By 10, I had killed someone. If you refused to cooperate at a young age, Ivan, the man who was in charge of my division, would zip tie you to the radiator and leave you without food or water for days. Once you were older, every time you disobeyed, you would be whipped. I went on my first mission when I was 11. I was tasked to bring in a rogue agent who had tried to quit. Once I caught her, Ivan made me proceed to learn every torture technique and practice it on her. A year ago, Black Widow destroyed the biggest division of the Red Room. Ivan went into hiding and disbanded his group. Ever since, I have been tracking him." I blinked, "What's your real name?" She answered, "Mayday Parker."
Chapter 7
In an abandoned warehouse… still
I stare curious by his sudden interest. "Why are you so curious?" He ignores me, suddenly silent. I repeat myself. He starts, "Oh, because Peter talks about you all the time! He told me that he checks the AMBER alert web page every morning to see if anyone has found you." I stare shocked, I hadn't known what to expect, or even if my family cared about me. I push down tears, "He does? I didn't even know if my family cared." He winces visibly, and I frown, curious about his offense. Does he actually do that? I wonder, confused and touched. Suddenly, I hear sniffling, but it's not from me. "Are you crying?!?" I stare. "Take off my mask," He breathes. I stare harder, then walk up and slowly pull off the mask. Staring up at me is the face of Peter Parker. I jump back, then come closer and deactivate the magnetic cuffs. He stands up and wraps me in his arms. "I'm so sorry", he sniffs, tears streaming down his face. "You're sorry? I'm the one who drugged my own father!" I exclaim, crying. He looks up at me, “You think this is my first time?” He grins, “Oh, the stories I can tell!” After a few seconds, we pull apart. We pull apart just enough to look at each other. For the first time, I notice his eyes. Hazel. The same color as mine. I say the first thing that comes to mind, “You're older than I thought you would be… We both begin to smile, then he starts to laugh. I begin laughing too. Even though there's nothing remotely funny, I can feel that we both needed it. "I was expecting a LOT of things, but THIS was not one of them! I spent hours interrogating Spider-Man... and it was you." He smiles, “It was one of my better interrogations.” We laugh again and my face aches, like I haven’t used these muscles in a long time. Our laughter dies down, and the silence cuts through the air. I stare at his face, knowing that he’s memorizing mine. I break the silence, “ Sooo the picture in your room?” He looks at me with a sad smile, "That's my favorite picture of you." There's another long silence, I hear his voice dragging me out of my reverie, “Can I hug you again?” I smirk, “yes”. Suddenly, the window breaks, and a grenade sails in and lands in front of my face. "GET DOWN", I scream and push him off to the side and dive. It explodes, letting out an explosive amount of light. I let out a breath, grateful that it was just a flashbang. With my ears ringing, I activate my widow stingers. In the back of my vision, I see Dad pull on his mask. I see a form moving in the shadows, so I roll behind a piece of equipment. I hear a woman's voice coming from somewhere in front of me. "It's ok, I know you're probably scared. I understand your fear. I know what it's like to be one of Ivan's puppets." As she attempts to talk me down, I peek around the equipment, expecting to see someone. Instead, there's a speaker in the middle of the room blaring the sound. "OH SHOOT", I whip around just in time to see Black Widow lift her stingers. I roll out of the way as the blast sizzles across the equipment where I was a second ago. I sweep my leg and Black Widow falls, controlling her momentum so that she doesn’t hit the floor. I reach into my boot and pull out a syringe of Sodium Pentothal. I hide it behind my back and launch my momentum off the floor, wrapping my legs around her head, using the jump momentum to throw us both to the ground. As I raise my fist it is grabbed by an iron grip, wait it is metal! I curse as I turn to face the Winter Soldier. I had known they were on my tail, but I didn't realize how close they had been. I try to pull out of his iron grip to no avail. I change my face to seem sweet, “couldn’t you just let me off with a warning? He claps cuffs around my wrists, “No,” he says point blank. “Good,” I reply. “I like a challenge!" since he had let go of my wrists I bring my foot up and kick the place no foot should EVER go. “Ahhh!” He winces and I start running. I hear the crackle behind me as Black Widow fires and move to the side. The blast ends up hitting my dad, who had just gotten over the shock of the flashbang. In the moment I stop to check on him, then realise my mistake as I move to the side, almost escaping the electricity crackling across my back. Black Widow walks up and looks down at me. “Alchemist," she stares down at me. "You are officially out of business." Then I black out.
Chapter 8
Avengers tower
I wake up with a big headache the size of a hurricane. Then I realize that it was probably because of the electricity I got hit with. THEN I remember who had zapped me with the electricity,"WIDOW!!" She walks in. "Oh, good, you’re awake. I was worried that the Pentothal was still in your system." I sit up, still glaring at her. "The Pentothal was out of my system a while ago!" "Well, that’s good to know", she says, staring at me. "Did the Alchemist use any other drugs on you?" I start to reply, then do a double-take. "The Alchemist?" "She became known by that name because she always sedates and tortures her victims with various drugs. Her favorites are Scopolamine and Pentothal." I grimace, "She threatened to use Scopolamine, but that’s all." She stares at me, "Parker, almost every single victim of hers has been killed by cyanide. Yet when we arrived, she had set you free. What did she want?" I stare at her, "Do you not know who she is?" She stares back, "Did she actually tell you her name! Who is she?" I grimace, "Natasha, she's my daughter." She stares at me. While she gapes, I push past her to look for my daughter. I check to see where she is in the tower. The only thing I see on the 'Alchemist' is a message that says, “transferred to the Raft”. I stare in disbelief, "NAT!!" I rush back into the infirmary. "PLEASE, PLEASE tell me you didn't do what I think you did!" Her face is sorrowful. "I'm SO sorry, Peter, I didn't know." I pace, trying to figure out how to tell MJ, 'Yes, I found our daughter, but then she got arrested by the Avengers and is now in a floating prison in the middle of the ocean.' "Is she still in transit?" I ask hopefully. "Yesss, but Peter DON'T do anything stupid!" I grimace, "PLEASE, don't try to stop me." She steps in front of the door. "I can't let you go." I sigh, "FINE!" She relaxes, "Good." I start to head to the opposite side of the room, then whip around and web her hand to the wall. She stares at me, "PARKER!" I web her mouth closed. "Sorry, but I can't let my daughter go." I open the window and jump out. I start swinging toward the bridge. It's the most likely place she's at. I land, there's an armored truck lying on its side with the doors open. I check the driver for a pulse. Thankfully, he's alive. I look in the back. There, conked out, are two men with concussions, with hourglasses tattooed on their arms. OH NO. One of them is still clutching a syringe. There is still a drip of whatever was in it at the bottom, but it's mostly empty. I start to get out of the truck, but then I see something I was hoping I wouldn't see. There is a streak of red on the road outside. Leading away from the truck. I close my eyes, hoping for the best, but inside doubting. Good luck, Mayday, I think. I'll find you.
Chapter 9
Brooklyn Bridge, a few minutes ago.
I blink, still pretending to be asleep. I hear two men speaking and feel that I'm in a moving vehicle. "Just stick her with it and be done", I hear one say. "Fine, this is getting boring anyway", I feel the other move toward me. Once he leans over me I move. I sweep my leg, and he hits the ground hard. I whip up as his buddy gasps, I grab the fallen man and pull him in front of me as a hostage. "Stay back!" I yell. The other guy raises his gun and aims. I pull my hostage closer in front of me and wrap my arm around his neck, cutting off his air. "Any closer and your buddy dies", I say as my hostage turns purple. The other guy steps back, and I loosen my hold on the man. The truck suddenly makes a sharp turn, throwing everyone to the side. I let go of the man as I try to regain my balance. As I attempt to get up, the guy I had been threatening stabs me with the syringe. I gasp as the sudden pain hits me, and when I double over, one of the men grabs me and slams me into the wall of the truck. I hear a crack as something breaks. I slide down the wall, overcome by the pain. The edges of my eyes go dark as I start to black out. I feel like my cells are slowly rewriting themselves. One man leans down and starts to taunt me. As he leans down, I slam his head into the wall and take his gun and shoot the other guy in the chest. He goes down, and I push myself up. I check to make sure I was right. I was, both of the men had bulletproof vests on. I take the butt of the gun and hit them on the head, making sure they're out cold. I stumble out and try to get to a safe place. After a while of stumbling, I realize I've crossed into Jersey. I look for a convenience store nearby and spot a Circle Q. I search my pockets for any money and come up with a twenty. I stumble past the desk clerk, who had been chatting with a girl around my age; they were now gaping at me. I realize I probably looked like I'd come out of a war zone. I go through the aisles and grab rubbing alcohol and sewing supplies, then, for good measure, I grab the 50c lollipop and drag myself to the front desk. I slap the twenty down. He continues to stare at me, "You OK?" he asks, concerned. "Oh, I'm FINE, "I try to lie. I can see he's not convinced, probably because of the drop of blood dripping down my face. The girl walks up, "You should get to a hospital," she says, pulling out her phone. I snatch her phone, run out, and throw it onto the roof. "Sorry, but I can't have the people after me trace the call!" I start running until, finally, several blocks away, the pain from the chemical they gave me kicks in. The world blurs completely. I manage to pull myself into an alleyway, and then I collapse. I wake up a little bit later. All of my senses seem to have heightened; I try to get up and realize my hand is stuck to the wall. I try to pull it away, and when I do, part of the crumbling brick comes out still stuck to my hand. I hear a noise, and I jump back. I look down and realize I'm above the ground, sticking to the wall. I get hit by another wave of pain and fall off the wall. I lay there for a while. Trying to clean my wounds. Suddenly, I get a sharp sensation in the back of my mind, like a warning. Then two burly men walk in with clubs. One spots me and starts walking my way. "Hey girl, this is our territory. You want to rest here? You gotta pay." I sigh, "Can't a girl just bleed out in an alleyway in peace?" The other one brings out a club, so I push myself up. I blast one with my widow stinger, but the other one gets behind me and starts cutting off my air supply. I struggle, but can't manage to break his hold on me. As I black out again! I feel him drop me suddenly, and I hit the ground. I see a girl leaning over me. I struggle to regain consciousness. Then she splashes water on me, and I wake up. I breathe deeply. "Are you alright?" she asks. "I've been better, I admit," and I realize she's the same girl from the store. "What's your name?" I ask. "Kamala Khan," she says. "Now let's get you some help."
Chapter 10
On top of the Empire State Building
I sigh, hanging up on the Police Station. Ever since the grid came back on line, I’ve been making frantic calls. If anyone finds Mayday, I’ll be the first to know, buuuutt so will the Red Room. I decide to swing by some of the Young Avengers houses to see if they know anything. I check up on Ms Marvel first. We’re old friends and have gone through a lot in the past. I pull regular clothes over my suit, take off my mask, and knock on the Khans’ door. Her mother answers, “Hello? Are you here to see Kamala?” I put on a smile, “Yes, Mrs. Khan, is she here?” She scowls at me, “No, she’s at the Circle K with Bruno.” “Awesome, thanks, Mrs. Khan.” I swing away after she closes the door, and head toward the Circle K. I land and walk into the store. I walk up to Bruno, who is manning the checkout station. “Hey, Bruno, have you seen Kamala?” He looks up, “She’s probably chasing that girl who threw her phone on the roof.” I stare at him intensely, “How long ago was this? Which way did she go? What did she look like?” He shrinks under my shower of questions. “It was just like, 5 minutes ago, I think.” He says. “Which way?” I ask. He points, and I start running. I was just 5 minutes behind! In the alleyway I go in and out of consciousness. I don’t have enough energy to tell the girl not to call 911. Thankfully, she doesn’t. She just starts cleaning my wounds. As I drift in and out, I start dreaming. My mind thinks back to my earliest memories. I start to think about my father, but then I hit a mental brick wall. I keep trying, but continue hitting the wall. I frown. Why can't I remember? As I’m about to finish the thought, I wake up as I feel myself getting dragged. I kick my legs, forcing the person to let go. I look up, expecting to find the girl; instead, I look up to see a leering man with a spider tattoo on his face. Then someone hits me from behind, and my mind seeps into darkness.
Chapter 11
In an alleyway not too far from Circle K
I walk until I’ve checked almost every place in the general direction that Bruno pointed. Then I notice the blood. As I feel my face pale, I follow the blood to an alleyway. I look around, and I see peroxide, along with a needle and thread. There is a large bloody spot where it looks like someone leaned against the wall. I look around and notice a dumpster sticking open. I peek inside, then see two men unconscious. Hanging on the edge of the dumpster is Kamala’s ribbon. I grimace, starting to think that maybe this was another kidnapping. I scowl, mad that she got involved. We had known each other for a while, Kamala and I had even swapped bodies once! I couldn’t let anything happen to her. I take out my phone for the second time, realizing that I can’t find Mayday alone.“Hey,” I say as Tony answers. “I need a favor.”
Chapter 12
In Vineyard 48
I wake to a dank smell filling my nostrils. I sit up and see that I’m in a tall metal vat. I pause, expecting pain from my injuries, but I don’t feel any. I look at my arm and see that there's a high-tech pain-killing patch on it. I remember the girl, Kamala, and look around. She’s slumped against one of the walls, still unconscious. I go to check on her, and as I try to wake her up, I notice there’s some blue peeking out from under her shirt. Before I can investigate, the small round door opens. A man calls from outside, “Come out, Mayday, Ivan wants to speak with you.” “And if I don’t?”I call back. “Then that tank will be fumigated with poisonous gas.” He says, I can almost hear the smirk in his voice. I slip out of the hole, and as soon as I do, they immediately grab my wrists and zip tie them. They then slip a black bag over my head. As I get dragged along, I try to memorize the passage. I feel the air change; it's sharp and fresh. They sit me down in a chair and zip tie my wrists to the cold frame. As the bag is whipped off, I come face-to-face with someone I never wanted to see, except when he was bleeding out. “We meet again my Devushka,” Ivan says with a smile that says he thinks he’s won. Chapter 12 Vineyard 48 I wake up excited, even though that might be strange coming from someone who was kidnapped. You see, I haven’t had ANY action in MONTHS!! I sit up, noticing the giant vat. There is an opening at the top. Seems like they didn’t expect a superhero! I slowly grow, thinking embiggen, embiggen… Once I get to the top, I grab onto the edge, shrinking to normal size. I can’t believe they got the jump on me! I was using the peroxide to clean that girl's wounds when I got grabbed from behind. This is why I wish I had Spidey-sense! I lie down on the catwalk for a second to rest, then bolt back up. “AMMI IS GOING TO KILL ME!!!” I almost shout. I clap my hand over my mouth. I hear a noise, and shrink as a guard walks toward me. He looks around and then, seeing nothing, walks back down. Hard to believe that just a couple hours ago, my day was great! I was hanging out with Bruno at the Circle K, when the girl walked in. She had a slow drip of blood making its way down the side of her face, and she had a torn jumpsuit on. I immediately also noticed the gun on her hip. While she was in the aisles I tried to get Bruno to leave, but he wouldn’t go. After she tossed my phone on the roof, it was easy to get down; I stretched my arm up and grabbed it. “Why would she not want me to call 911?” I wondered, studying the direction she’d fled. I’m sucked back to the present as I hear a scream echo in the building.
Chapter 13
I gasp for breath as my head is pulled out of the cool water. Ivan smiles, “Losing your training are you? I’ll just have to remind you what you did to that boy in Budapest.” He pulls out several needles, I identify them immediately, Sodium Pentothal, Scopolamine, and Cyanide. “What did you do to that boy again? He questions prompting me to try and remember. I can’t though. I grudgingly ask, “What did I do?” He grins, “Oh, that's right you killed him, after you pulled out his teeth!” He pauses. “That reminds me of my dentist! Ha! Wonderful man. Oh the philosophical debates we would have! Before he tried to cut my throat open anyway. Ivan laughs good naturedly. I roll my eyes, “Get on with it Ivan, I don’t want to listen to anymore of your stories!” He raises an eyebrow, “Oh, but I'm not going to kill you!” he exclaims, “You’re FAR too valuable for that!” I frown, “Then why did you try to kill me on the plane?” He smiles, “Oh Devushka, you could never understand the long game! I have been playing you! ‘Belief is more dangerous than lies,’” he quotes. “Why does that apply?” I ask. He laughs, “Because I have been shaping your beliefs! You believed that I didn’t know you had intercepted my message. FALSE! I fed you that message! You thought I was reaching out to the KGB. False! The KGB would never risk interacting with me. You see Devushka, I have been playing you all along. I realise my mouth was hanging open and close it. I severely underestimated my opponent. “Why go to all the trouble to get me here?” I ask. “Because of your genetics!” he exclaims. As he’s about to go into further detail, we hear a loud clang from above. The air vent shifts, then I hear a quiet, “Shoot!” from the vent. Then the girl from before falls out of the vent, landing on the concrete floor. “OW!” she yelps, then looks around and realizes that she picked the wrong vent to fall out of.
Chapter 14
Empire State rooftop, a bit before last chapter
I get a message from Tony, It’ s an update about the trace on Kamala’s phone. The text reads, Vineyard 48, what's over there Peter? Do you need help with anything? I click on the reply button, about to respond when I pause. Isn’t this my responsibility? Shouldn’t I take care of this? I imagine what might happen if Tony were to come with me. I have NO idea what I'm facing. I have to do this alone. I pull on my mask and start swinging toward the winery. Once I arrive, the sickening smell of rotting grapes fills my nostrils. Ever since the scandal in 2017 the place has been abandoned. I search the perimeter for a way in, but can’t find any. Then I see the main door open, and a guard walks out. I drop down behind him silently. I tap him on the shoulder, “Hey buddy, those look like my size.” As he whirls around, I punch him in the jaw. He drops unconscious to the ground. I shake my hand and mutter, “You have a glass jaw.” Then I drag him to the side out of plain view, and pull on his clothes and helmet over my suit. I walk past the other guard unnoticed as I enter the large complex. I hear a scream coming from ahead, and resist the urge to run toward it. Instead I turn to another guard and ask, “Hi, fellow comrade…” and smile awkwardly, hoping that I don’t sound stupid. “Da,” he says. I smile again, glad I took Russian in high school, “Do you know where they keep the prisoners?” He scowls at me then switches to English. “Are you one of the new recruits?” He asks in a stinted accent. “Uhhh yes! Yes I am!” He scowls harder. “You Americans! You don’t understand the mission, you're just in it for the money! Anyway… what were you saying?” I sigh, “Where is Ivan holding the prisoners?” He scowls, “Oh, that's right, in the winery vats.” “Great! Oh. um I mean, thank you for the information, comrade!” I walk away briskly, heading in that direction. I arrive and look until I find the largest vat. I hear a small noise, and head in its direction. I look up the catwalk, but not seeing anything, turn away. As I turn, I see a small blue thing out of the corner of my eye. I jump onto the vat, crawling on the side. The tiny blue object slowly grows. Turning into someone I hoped I’d see. “KAMALA!!” I shout, forgeting about stealth for a moment. She jumps sky high, then looks to the side. “PETER!!” She screams. Then winces, looks around and says, “How did you find me?” I smile, “I tracked your phone.” She grins, THAT IS SO COOL!! Is that Avenger tech? Can I have it? PLEASE!!!. I sigh, “KAMALA, focus!” She snaps back to focus. “Right!” She pauses, “So do you have a plan?” I crouch, “So this is what i’m thinking.. You climb into the vent and crawl until you’re above wherever they have the girl they brought you here with.” She raises an eyebrow, “How’d you know that someone came with me?” I grimace, “She’s…” I pause, deciding whether or not I want to reveal anything. I start again, “She’s a ex Red Room agent who turned.” Kamala studies my face, seeing that there is clearly more to the story. Before she has time to question I say, “OK, after that, you need to make a loud noise. That will give me time to get in. Kamala looks at me, questions still on her face, “How do you know that her room is underneath a vent?” I sigh, “Because judging from where that scream came from, AND the fact the obviously this place has AC, the vent should pass overhead.” She stares at me, “You’re really smart!” I smile, “College will do that to you.” We break and Kamala shrinks and slips into the vent. I put on my best stone russian face and walk toward the area where the scream came from. I walk down a dank passage, until I feel the air subtly change. As the air sharpens, I see a room up ahead. A guard is standing outside, but he’s beginning to nod off. I sneak up behind him, and put my hand over his mouth to cover the noise. I slam him to the wall and then web his body to it. I wait outside the door until I hear a loud thump. I walk in while everyone is focused on Kamala. I web another guard to the wall before anyone notices me. As soon as I do, they look in my direction. The man who is sitting across from Mayday stares for a second, then as Kamala and I begin to deal with the remaining guards, moves to the back of the room, putting distance between us. Out of the corner of my eye I see Mayday slip a knife out of her boot, that appears to be only 2 inches in length. As she cuts herself free I focus on the task at hand. The person I’m fighting is a young woman. She throws a roundhouse at me and as I duck I can’t stop thinking about how this is how Mayday was just a few weeks ago. I catch her fist in my hand and look at her. “You can leave.” I say, trying desperately to spare her. In response she stomps on my foot and tries to twist out of my grasp. I sigh and push her back, sticking her hand to the wall with my webs. I begin to take on another guard when I hear a loud, “STOP!!” I whip around to see the man who had been sitting across from Mayday, holding a syringe next to Mayday’s neck. The pink liquid in the syringe sloshes menacingly, as the man looks me in the eye with a cold analytic expression. “Let me introduce myself,” he says, still looking at me. “My name is Ivan Somorodov, and in this syringe there is Cyanide.” I am still looking at Mayday’s face. Her face is still, but when she notices me looking at her she shakes her head minutely. I return my gaze to Ivan, the man who had taken my daughter from me. Once he is sure he has my attention, he continues. “Since you now understand the situation, it is evident you know what I am going to demand next.” I nod slowly to the idea dawning on me. I glance at Kamala, who is looking at me expecting advice. I say out loud, “Ms Marvel, it's hopeless, give up.” She stares at me, I mouth, RUN. She nods. I turn back to Ivan. “I give up.” As I hold my hands out, I realize that coming here alone was a bad idea. I look back to Mayday. She has a look of pure disappointment on her face. She stomps on Ivan’s foot and opens her mouth. “It’s Pen-”. She’s interrupted as Ivan with a look of stone, stabs the needle into her neck. As the plunger goes down I rush forward, only to be wrestled to the ground. As she falls I see Mayday’s desperate face, as she finally hits the ground, lifeless. I stare in shock and grief as her body lies there. After just a day, my daughter is gone. In the corner of my eye I see Kamala hesitate, then shrink. I just sit there caught up with grief to care as I’m roughly hauled to my feet and dragged away. I hang my head, my heart shattered into a thousand pieces that can’t be put together.
Mayday’s POV
I start sawing at my bonds as Kamala and Peter begin fighting. Ivan behind me begins to back away. As I cut one of them, he notices me and grabs a syringe. I cut the other tie and begin forward, but am yanked back. Ivan pulls me in front of him positioning the needle near my throat. He murmurs in my ear, “If you twitch so much as a muscle, I will jam this into a vein.” He looks toward my father and yells loudly, “STOP!” Everyone in the room looks toward the scene, with Ivan’s hand around my throat. I stay perfectly still not wanting whatever that pink liquid is in my system. WAIT, PINK liquid! I realise it’s Pentothal and release a breath. Ivan is bluffing. I hear my dad say, “I give up.” and stare at him, shocked he hasn’t realised Ivan’s bluffing. I see him meet my eyes, but doesn’t understand my message. As he holds out his hands I desperately stomp on Ivan’s foot and try to say. “It’s Pentothal!” Instead I’m interrupted by the sharp feel of the needle piercing my skin. As I feel the narcotic begin flowing through my veins, I stare at Peter horrified, as he sinks to the ground, looking desolate. I try to open my mouth but am paralyzed as he’s dragged away. As I slip into darkness Ivan looks down at me with a small smile on his face. “You played your part perfectly.”
Chapter 15
Vineyard 48
I stare down at the girl I raised and cared about, lying on the ground. I look up, my face set in a hard expression that hasn’t wavered for 20 years. Ever since Romanoff, my best pupil, until she turned, that is, destroyed my Red Room, I have been colder than some would say is humanly possible. I turn to the remaining guard in the room, who is twitching nervously, intimidated by my presence. “Were you the man guarding the door?” I ask, almost indifferently. He tenses, “Yes Sir.” I smirk, “You know, this reminds me of that man Hitler. Horrible man, wrong ideas, but he was useful. Until he became unneeded. Then do you know what Russia did?’ He starts stammering, “Nnno Sir, what did Russia do?” I let my face go cold again, “They destroyed him because of his incompetence.” I then draw my side arm and shoot the man in the hand, removing a finger. As he screams in agony I say, “You are fortunately still of use to me, however small that use may be. Every time you fail me from now onward, you will lose a finger. If you run out of fingers, we’ll move on to your toes.” His scared expression tells me all I need to know about his answer. “Good, now get her and the man on a plane as soon as you find a suitable test subject. As he scurries out of sight I return to my thoughts. As soon as I had the girl’s DNA, all that would be left to do is find the appropriate test subject. The man was a bonus. As the source of the DNA, Peter Parker would make the odds even more in my favor. With an army of enhanced agents, I could easily conquer Russia and overthrow the KGB which had rejected me. I’m still pondering this when I leave the room and board a plane to Moscow.
Chapter 16
Avengers tower
I sit on the couch waiting for the digital clock to turn on. I am really starting to get annoyed! I have been sitting here for an HOUR waiting for Tony to fix the grid. I start to fall asleep fuming, when I hear a quiet beep… I whip my head up and glance at the clock. IT’S ON! I immediately sit up and dial Peter's number. It rings twice, three times, and as it’s about to ring fourth, he sends me to voicemail. I for a second lose total composure. “AAAGHHHH”, I scream trying to contain the anger. I start muttering angrily, “Peter Benjamin Parker, if you don’t pick up the DANG phone I will FIND YOU!” I slam the phone down on the couch and go to find Tony. When I walk in, Tony is texting. “Jarvis, text, do you need help with anything Peter? Perfect now send.” I stare at him accusingly until he notices me. He looks up with a ‘OH crap!’ expression on his face. “Hi MJ, what's wrong?” I stare accusingly at him. “What’s going on Tony? Why are you texting my husband?!” He bites his lip for a second not realizing that he is. He notices the tell and plasters a fake smile on his face. “I’m just checking in with Peter, that's all! He’s perfectly FINE!” I scowl, “Antony Edward Stark! DON’T sugarcoat it. Tell me NOW!” He begins biting his lip again. “MJ…’ As his voice takes on a silky tone I stop him with a glare. He sighs, “I don’t know. I can’t tell where he is. He texted me a while back… but that's all I’ve heard.” My face goes cold. I pull myself together, as I try to figure out how to find Peter, I realize that staying here is no longer a viable option. My voice steadys, “Tony, why don’t you show me what you're working on?” He looks at me in surprise, but then starts talking about his latest invention. I quietly step back and temporarily lock him out of the tower's system as he drones on. I then bolt locking the door behind me. Once I’m onto the first floor I start to step over the threshold, then glance back. Pushing doubts aside I rush out the door into the crowded streets. I start planning what to say to my husband when I find him. ‘Peter Benjamin Parker! How could you go off alone, leave me, AND, not check-in!’ I start another internal rant, when I get hit with a cloud of engine exhaust. I cough and move through it and begin again. ‘Peter, how could you go out alone! YOU are sleeping on the couch for the next MONTH! When I see something dark out of the corner of my eye I snap back to reality. My hand moves to my neck as I walk a wide arch away from a particularly dark alley. I begin down a street as the crowd thickens. I make it about a quarter of a block before I realize I’m on the wrong street. I quickly head the right way, making a U-turn away from a blocked off area. There is construction happening and just as I turn away, there's a loud shout and I turn back just in time to see a metal beam fall off the crane. The noise is deafening as it impacts the ground. Then there’s a deadly silence, like the calm before a storm. My arm hairs raise and then I turn around as a black van pulls up to the curb. I realize just a second too late as figures in masks jump out of the car and grab my arm. I scream once in case anyone is nearby before a hand is clapped over my mouth. I take my purse and smack one of the figures in black with the metal buckle, causing a concussion. I feel a needle pierce my neck, as they load me in the back I train my eyes on the light outside until the door closes and I’m left in darkness.
Chapter 17
Vineyard 48
I stare at Peter trying to understand what he’s mouthing. OHHHHH, Peter mouths ‘Run!’ I nod slightly showing I understood, but not leaving. I wasn’t going to abandon him. I look at the girl, who looks frustrated. She stomps on Ivan’s foot, as she does I feel a flicker of hope that is immediately crushed when Ivan jams the needle into her neck. As she drops, I stare in shock. NO NO NO! I shrink instinctively as Peter slumps to the ground. I realize that he’s counting on me, I begin to get ready to fight, when I realize I wouldn’t get three feet closer to Ivan without help. I turn to Peter again as Ivan’s men pull him to his feet and drag him away. I start to leave the anger and sadness gnawing at my heart when Ivan begins speaking again. This time he’s turned toward the other guard. I strain to hear, but from this size it's hard to catch. “Moscow….. Plane… Test subject.” My blood runs cold at the last word. I stop, I can’t get on a plane. Peter told me to run but.. I shrink smaller and recognise the irony. I begin to step back when Ivan’s head slowly turns my direction. With a stare that makes me feel like he can see through me, he watches my area of the room for a long time. I freeze, hoping I'm not too noticeable. When he finally turns away, I bolt. I race through the cracks of the structure trying to outrun my own guilt. Once outside I grow and quickly make my way towards Avenger’s Tower. I rush into the Tower, and make my way up to the 4th floor. Once the elevator doors open I rush out, colliding into Natasha. I sigh in relief, glad to see her, then the panic rushes in. “NATASHA, warehouse! Peter! CAPTURED! MOSCOW! PLANE! I pause to take a breath and she stops me. “FOCUS, KAMALA, start from the beginning. I start talking, Me and this girl were in an alleyway and we got kidnapped! Then I woke up and she was gone, and I escaped, and Peter came to rescue us! Natasha questions me further, “Who captured you? Where?” I gasp out, “Ivan, Vineyard 48! Natasha goes completely still, her face turning stone cold. “Where is he taking them?” I repeat, “MOSCOW, on a PLANE!” She curses under her breath. She picks up her phone and calls someone. “Barnes, I need you NOW”.
Chapter 18
On a plane headed to Moscow
My eyes slowly flutter open. The bright white light blinds me momentarily, and I slowly regain my sight. Once my eyes have adjusted, I look around. I’m on a hospital bed with magnetic restraints around my hands. I remember the last few hours and look around for Peter. He’s not here. I shudder, hoping that he’s not getting tortured. I hear a loud voice coming from outside and start pulling at my cuffs to no avail. The door creaks open and a guard drags a woman with a gold locket through the door. “HEY! SIR IF YOUR MOTHER WAS HERE…” the guard cusses at her, “YOU KEEP THAT TONGUE TO YOUR SELF! YOUR MOTHER NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS! What's her phone number!” He cusses again and shoves her inside, slamming the door behind him. She scowls still staring at the door. “Well that was rude!” I frown at the door, then turn around. I almost jump, only now noticing the young woman strapped to a bed. She’s furiously struggling against the restraints while studying me. The scene tugs at my heart mirroring my own helplessness. I slowly walk over. “Do you need help?” I ask hesitantly. A corner of her mouth curves upward, and she replies, “I don't know, I'm just so tied up right now" My mouth curves into a smile. I move to the side of the bed and start tugging at one of the cuffs. “My husband would like you.” We both pause, I take a deep breath determined to look strong for the girl. Chapter 19 On a plane headed to Moscow I swallow, confused by the statement. We stare at each other for a beat, then continue working at the restraints. After the 5th time we’ve tried to pry them off the woman reaches into her purse and pulls out a small magnet. “Maybe this will disrupt the lock,” she wonders, then takes the magnet and holds it next to the lock. It clicks open and I pull my hand out. I grudgingly say, “thank you,” and start on the other one. Once she’s freed the other hand, I am about to get up when something in her expression makes me pause. Then I attempt to get out of the bed. I pull the IV out of my arm. As soon as my foot touches the ground, I buckle under my own weight. As I fall the woman catches me and eases me to the ground. As my face burns slightly, she sits down beside me. “How many guards did you count?” She asks as we sit. I grimace, “At least 20 where they caught me. I was boarding the plane unconscious..” She waits for a minute, “I counted 15 on the plane.” We look at each other for a heartbeat. I examine her in a slightly new light. She asks another question, “How come you know so much about counting guards?” I sneeze hoping it will divert her attention. She raises an eyebrow and deadpans, “Bless you.” I wait for her to ask again, but she just waits, watching my face. I come up with another way to divert the question, “Well I took Martial Arts as a kid, my teacher was… a veteran.” She diverts her eyes away from my face and mutters, “some veteran.” Then her hand comes up and touches the gold locket around her neck. I immediately focus on that tell, knowing that if I ask a personal question then the attention will be diverted away from me. Also I’m just really curious. I ask, “What’s in it?” She looks up quickly, realizing she’d been fingering it. After a pause she hands it to me. I open it with care, and see a photo of two people kissing. The woman is standing, and the man is upside-down. Both are soaked. My mouth lifts in a smile, I wonder where my mother is now, then I ask, “Is he your husband? The one who would like my jokes?” She stares at me, and answers, "He's brave to the point of stupidity sometimes. But he always comes home." I carefully hand the locket back, confused at this unguarded truth she has shared. Then as we look at each other, I hear the sound of footsteps in our direction. We share a look and she hauls me back into the bed. I set the IV on top of my arm to make it appear like it’s still in it. As the door opens, the girl lolls her head back, and for a moment I almost believe she’s really unconscious. The same guard from before walks in, he’s eyeballing me waiting for the inevitable lecture. I straighten and walk toward him with purpose. I walk toward him until we're only inches apart. “You need to tell your boss to get that girl off of whatever is in that IV.” I say calmly. He pushes past me without acknowledging my demand. “HEY, I AM TALKING TO YOU!” I walk fast until I'm in front of him again. “Don’t you ignore me! I’m older than you!” He growls and rushes out slamming the door in my face. I smirk, “works EVERY time.” I turn toward the girl who is sitting up grinning. Our eyes meet. Then we both burst into laughter. She gasps out, “That was AMAZING! Even though I was trained to do that, you pulled it off better than I ever could!” Then her face goes stone cold as she realizes she let something slip. I frown internally, interested in this guarded girl's past, but decide not to push. I say, “I won’t ask. Everyone has secrets.”
Chapter 20
I lean my head against the wall, still trying to process what occurred. Replaying the scene over and over in my head. Seeing if there was any way to prevent what happened. And specifically what her last words were. “It’s Pen-” what does that mean! It’s -what? I growl in frustration, then put my head between my knees. Why do I care? I’m probably going to die in the next couple days! Tears drip down my face as I think about how MJ will never know how I died, or even where I died. The plane intercom crackles and a cheery voice comes through, "Dobroye utro! Good morning! Welcome to Russian airspace. All test subjects on this plane will be receiving my gift to you very soon! Since you all have type O, this will be quite easy. This reminds me of that time in Budapest... What year was it? AH yes, 1984! Very good year. The wine from that year was exceptional — there was a particular vineyard outside the city that produced the most remarkable—" I growl infuriated that he can be so cheerful when he murdered my daughter. “SHUT UP ALREADY!” I yell. Ivan continues without missing a beat, "In any case! You are all steppingstones to a serious scientific breakthrough. I do hope you appreciate the historical significance of this moment." A pause, then warmly, almost gently — "Do make yourselves comfortable. It is going to be a lovely flight." The intercom clicks off. I sink back to the ground, all of my energy gone again. After a minute or two, I hear a muffled noise. I dismiss it at first, thinking it’s turbulence. Then I hear a loud thump, as something collides with my wall. I frown and put my ear to the wall. I hear a metallic clang then I hear a loud noise and as I do my spider-sense flares. I leap back as a bullet exits the wall from where my ear had been a second ago. I stare in shock as the bullet loses momentum and drops to the floor. I gulp worried that the bullet might have come from outside the plane. I say, “Please tell me that was an inside wall!” I hear a small gasp and put my eye to the hole. I’m momentarily blinded by the white clinical lighting inside the other room. As my eye adjusts, I see a flash of gold. I frown, “Is this a bad time?” There’s a beat of silence. Then a voice I thought I would never hear again. “Peter Benjamin Parker.” I freeze, horrified and yet relieved that MJ is on the plane. “MJ! What are you doing here?” She walks up and looks through the hole, her eyes twinkling. “Well I couldn't let you have all the fun without me!” she replies. I sigh even after all the years we’ve been married, her stubbornness still surprises me. Then I realize that I'm going to have to tell her about Mayday. I begin to open my mouth when I hear a quiet but distinct voice from the back of the room. “Dad?”
Mj’s POV
After that quiet but true sentence we sit in silence. I then decide to ask a slightly safer question, “How old are you?” She looks up in surprise, but then answers calmly, “16”. I nod, not letting her know how hard her answer hits me. As of this year, Mayday would be 16. I focus back on the task at hand. I start to ask another question, when the intercom crackles on. "Dobroye utro! Good morning! Welcome to Russian airspace. All test subjects on this plane will be receiving my gift to you very soon! Since you all have type O, this will be quite easy. This reminds me of that time in Budapest... What year was it? AH yes, 1984! Very good year. The wine from that year was exceptional — there was a particular vineyard outside the city that produced the most remarkable—" I mutter, "Yes please, do continue. I'm sure everyone is desperate to hear about Budapest." A beat of silence. Then from the other side of the wall, muffled but unmistakable — "SHUT UP ALREADY!" I go still, staring at the wall. That sounded like Peter. BUT there’s NO way that was Peter. The monologue from the speaker continues.“In any case! You are all steppingstones to a serious scientific breakthrough. I do hope you appreciate the historical significance of this moment." A pause, then warmly, almost gently — "Do make yourselves comfortable. It is going to be a lovely flight." The intercom clicks off. I take a deep breath, infuriated that he can talk about us so casually. I finally snap, saying, “I am DONE being the victim!” As I announce this a guard walks in. He notices that the girl is in fact very awake and we both look VERY mad and draws his gun. He points it at the girl, who doesn’t move. But he’s not looking at me, I kick the wall hard creating a distraction so the girl can move. She rushes up while his focus is on me, and propelling herself off the ground, wraps her legs around the guards neck , slamming them into the wall. I run up and grab the gun. As we wrestle for it, the guard pushes the girl away and aims the gun at her. I push him so that when he fires, he misses, instead sending the bullet through the wall. I kick the guard in the face, knocking him unconscious. Then listen for the hiss of air. I see that the girl's face is pale, aware that the oxygen could be getting sucked out. Then I hear a familiar voice from the other side of the wall. “Please tell me that was an inside wall!” My mouth hangs open and I gasp. I see a singular brown eye peek through the hole. “Is this a bad time?” My husband asks. I smirk, “Peter Benjamin Parker.” I hear the confusion in his voice when he answers, “MJ! What are you doing here?” I walk up to the hole and peek through. “Well, I couldn’t let you have all the fun without me!” I hear his exasperated sigh. Then as I’m about to speak, I hear from behind me, “Dad?” I stiffen slowly turning to look at the girl with red hair.
Mayday’s POV
I frown at her reaction to my age. I see the woman’s mouth open to ask another question, but is interrupted by a crackling coming from the intercom. "Dobroye utro! Good morning! Welcome to Russian airspace. All test subjects on this plane will be receiving my gift to you very soon! Since you all have type O, this will be quite easy. This reminds me of that time in Budapest... What year was it? AH yes, 1984! Very good year. The wine from that year was exceptional — there was a particular vineyard outside the city that produced the most remarkable—" The woman mutters, "Yes please, do continue. I'm sure everyone is desperate to hear about Budapest." A beat of silence. Then from the other side of the wall, muffled but unmistakable — "SHUT UP ALREADY!" The woman goes still, staring at the wall. Ivan continues without missing a beat, "In any case! You are all steppingstones to a serious scientific breakthrough. I do hope you appreciate the historical significance of this moment." A pause, then warmly, almost gently — "Do make yourselves comfortable. It is going to be a lovely flight." The intercom clicks off. I try to hide how much this information bothers me. I look at the woman who is fuming, I can see it on her face. Then she speaks, almost calmly, saying, “I am DONE being the victim!” At that exact moment, a guard walks in. I pale as he realizes I’m the bigger threat and points his gun at me. I watch as the woman kicks the wall making a loud clang. I immediately advance, throwing my body up and wrap my legs around his neck. The momentum sends us sideways and we crash into the wall. The woman runs up and together we wrestle for the gun. He pushes me away, and I collide with the floor, my hands smarting. He points the gun at me and as I brace for him to fire, The woman pushes him to the side. The bullet, instead of hitting me, sails through the wall. I instantly listen for the hiss of air, worried that the bullet had punctured the outer wall of the plane. Then I a voice, “Please tell me that was an inside wall! My mouth hangs open as I recognise the voice. I hear the woman gasp. A brown eye appears, looking through the hole. “Is this a bad time?” I smile grateful that my fathers okay. Then the woman says three words that completely reshape my reality. “Peter Benjamin Parker.” My eyes widen, the shock of the fact that they know each other washing over me. He says, “MJ?” and in that moment I put together all of the pieces. The locket, her description of her husband. And I realize that all this time, the woman I’ve been talking to is my mother. As tears streak down my face I realize I need to let my father know I’m okay, so I call out, “Dad?”
Chapter 21
Over Russian airspace
I freeze at the sound of the voice coming from the other room. Is that- NO it can’t be. There’s no way… I shake my head refusing to believe it. I hear MJ’s voice from the other side. “Peter.” And with that one sentence I realize it’s not a trick. I growl in anger, mad at Ivan, mad at Mayday, mad at this WALL. I ram my shoulder into the wall. This does only one of the expected outcomes. It almost dislocates my shoulder, AND… does nothing to the wall. I slide down to the ground. Finally I ask, “How?” I hear Mayday through the wall reply, "It was Pentothal not cyanide. Ivan was bluffing." I’m quiet for a moment realizing that I had been played. That’s what she was trying to say, “It’s Pentothal.” I bang my head against the wall, furious for not catching the bluff. I start to head down a rabbit-hole of what ifs when MJ’s voice calls me back to reality. “Peter, how are we going to escape?” I sigh, fully aware of the hopeless situation. Then a rush of determination runs through me. I was NOT going to lose both of them. I would make it out alive! I make a promise to remind myself not to give up, “We’ll be okay.”
Chapter 22
Avenger’s Tower
I bustle around the tower headed for the armory, Kamala trailing behind. As I walk into the armory and start packing weapons into a duffel bag, I mentally calculate how long it would take for a private plane to get from New York to Russia. I can’t believe that Peter would go in alone! Why didn’t he let me help? The answer dawns on me. It’s my fault. I’m the one who tracked down his daughter. I take a deep breath, determined to make it up to him by rescuing him. I feel a metal hand on my shoulder. “What is it Barnes?” I ask knowing exactly what he’s going to say. “Are you okay?” I don’t answer, pushing past him into the main room. Behind me I hear Barnes yell, “Do you think we’ll need the Rocket Launcher?” I roll my eyes. Kamala appears beside me with a look of determination on her face. “Let me come.” I answer immediately, “NO.” “PLEASE!” “NO.” I walk away, my decision final. I’m determined not to put anyone else in danger. I call out to Bucky, “Let's go.” and we board the quinjet. Once we’ve been in the air awhile I put the plane on autopilot, and brief Barnes. “I’ve gotten permission from the Russian authorities to land. BUT we aren’t supposed to bring any weapons…” Barnes grins, “This is just like the old times! We're about to cause a national scandal. That they'll never be able to talk about. Just because the Russian government couldn’t control Ivan.” As I’m about to respond I feel something moving in my hair. I go deadly still and slowly reach up and grab something. I hold it at arms length, then realize it’s Kamala. My face pales as I stare at her and Barnes starts laughing so hard that it shakes the plane a bit. “Kamala.. Why were you in my hair?” She immediately grows and starts talking my mind rushing to catch up. “We’ll, you know I have good intel AND you could use someone that can shrink and I really NEED to go!” I scowl knowing that it’s too late to turn back now. I sigh, “FINE.”
Chapter 23
We just sit in silence after that. Waiting for the inevitable. Finally, I feel the altitude dip and the plane skids on the runway, eventually coming to a stop. The door to our cell opens carefully and two guards, instead of one walk in. Obviously they learned from last time. I’m firmly, but gently grabbed around the wrist and pulled out. As we exit the plane I recount the guards. Five more have been added to the security detail. I shiver against the cold Russian air. I see Mayday and Peter behind me, both are wearing handcuffs on their wrists. After a couple minutes of walking in the cold, we stop at railroad tracks. I frown, confused and decide that now is the perfect time to annoy the guards. I turn to face my guard, “So, this is your great secret hideout? On railroad tracks? This is a GREAT place to experiment on people! You must be happy with your pay!” He scowls at me, “You will see…” I smirk, “What else is there to see besides old railroad tracks?” We start moving again, this time into a tunnel. There’s a rusty door embedded in the side of the tunnel. Ivan walks up and inserts a key into the lock, slowly turning it. The door silently opens, uncharacteristically for an object with that much rust on it. Then we are led inside. We enter a white clinical facility, hidden in plain sight. I realize the three of us are being taken down separate corridors, and reach for Mayday’s hand. Our fingers touch for a moment and she doesn’t move. Then we are wrenched apart, and I’m dragged down a hall. I’m pushed into a dark cell, the silence overtaking me. Then the loud rush of a train rattling by sends my mind back into the past. I flash back to a much warmer setting. Mayday, three years old, is shaking a rattle. I had gone back into the kitchen, thinking she would be fine, when I heard a loud giggle. I peeked outside to find Peter’s mask over Mayday’s head. Her small eyes peeking through the holes. I smile at the memory, remembering Peter’s face when he came home. I stand up, determined, "He always comes home. So will we."
Chapter 24
Just outside of Russia I walk acclimating myself to the familiar cold. As I walk I brief the team on my plan. “I am going to surrender.” Kamala and Barnes simultaneously yell, “WHAT!” I glare at them, “Not really, just so that we can try and get Peter out of there.” Kamala mouths, OHHHH and nods. “Kamala you shrink and hide in my…” I try to decide on a good spot for her. “In a compartment in my belt.” She smirks, “Why not your hair?” I stare her down. “Anyway! Barnes, you wait for the signal.” “What signal?” He asks, puzzled. “You’ll know it when you see it.” I reply. Then I trudge toward the facility. I walk slowly, waiting for the guards to notice me. I see cameras and wave, and as soon as I do four guards come pouring out of the entrance. I sink down on my knees, and put my hands on my head. “I smile at the guards who are hanging back. “I want to talk to Ivan”.
I observe each test subject's room, curious how they deal with confinement. The male has gone from despair to humor in only a few hours. From the microphones in the room I hear him whistling! My observation is interrupted by a hurried guard running toward me, “Speak”, I say, without turning around. “Black Widow has surrendered Sir,” He huffs. “She wants to talk to you.” I let a slow grin spread across my face. I walk outside, where she is on her knees. “You wished to speak to me?” I ask. She smirks and replies, “I’m here to negotiate the terms for my surrender.” I laugh, “You were always a bargainer! What are your terms?” Her face goes serious, “I want all of the subjects released.” My smile falls, “I won’t release them all. BUT I’ll cut you a deal. I’ll release one of my three test subjects. You can pick.” She frowns, “Deal”. As Ivan leads me into the facility I frown, third test subject? He brings me to the monitor room. Peter is whistling in one of the rooms, his daughter is walking around and examining the security cameras, and the third person… I stop, It’s MJ. I sigh, deciding that It’s not my right to make this decision. I turn to Ivan, “Let me talk to him”. I see the gears turning in his head, trying to decide if there’s any risk. “Fine,” he replies. I head toward Peter’s cell, guards open the door, and I walk in to hear Peter whistling Happy by Pharell Williams. He bolts up though, as soon as I walk in. “Natasha?” He asks. I cut to the point. “Peter, Ivan says he will let one of you go.” He immediately replies, “Take MJ.” I nod and walk out. I face Ivan, “I want Mary-Jane Parker released.” He shrugs nonchalantly, “Why not?” He signals a guard and they pull MJ out of her cell. Her eyes widen when she sees me, “Black Widow? What’s happening?” I reply, “Ivan’s letting you go MJ.” Then the guards pull her toward the exit.
As I’m shoved into the cold, I shiver as the frigid air overtakes me. I try to process what just happened. Did I just get let go while my husband AND daughter are still there! I pause, mad at Peter. I start trudging away, not sure where I’m supposed to be going. Then I see a form whose arm is glinting in the light.
Chapter 25
Just outside of Moscow
I lean against the wall whistling. I’m curious what Natasha has planned, I think. As I whistle, I scan the cell looking for anything useful. The door slides open and the light spills in blinding me momentarily. I continue whistling as guards walk in and pull me up. I pause to ask a question, “Why are you moving me?” They don’t answer so I go back to whistling. We go into a room labeled ‘chemical lab.’ A slow smile spreads across my face, I walk by a rack of chemicals and stagger sideways a bit. Then I ram into the rack, knocking it over. The chemicals catch fire, and I move back as a giant multicolored flame shoots up. “Ooops,” I say, then sprint toward the way they took Mayday. I hope that Natasha saw that! Alarms start blaring, as I run down the hallway I look ahead and see all the doors beginning to close. I sprint, clearing several. I close in on the last door, I run faster until I smack full speed into it. I peel off the door, everything hurting and look around for another way past. I look up and see a vent cover. I crawl up the wall, entering the ventilation system. I start going straight, but then get disoriented. I pause, listening for any sounds. Then I hear a dry voice saying, "Well, this was unexpected." I begin moving toward the sound, as a smile creeps across my face.
Chapter 26
Just outside of Moscow
I bang my head against the wall, incredibly bored. Then a loud alarm starts going off. I bolt upright and listen as I hear footsteps. I hug the wall by the door waiting for the right opportunity. The door slides open, and I come face to face with the barrel of a Tokarev TT-33. I back up slowly, as Ivan emerges from the door. “Not so fast,” he smiles. “You are so easy to anticipate!” I grin, “You obviously underestimate me,” and sweep my leg, throwing him to the ground. I lunge for the door, but he grabs my foot. We wrestle for the gun, as we do I hear doors sliding closed. We both turn to the cell door that's slowly closing. Ivan’s eyes widen, and he breaks out of my grasp. Determined not to be stuck again, I recover the gun and shoot him in the foot. As the door slides shut, I grin, enjoying the irony. “Well, this was unexpected.” He whips around furious. “Don't you see what you've done! I was the only one who could deactivate the lock down! Now we're both trapped!” I purse my lips, “Well, that is too bad, for you. I might even enjoy watching you bleed out in a cell.”
Chapter 27
Outside Moscow
I tap my foot impatiently, waiting for Natasha’s signal. The woman is still sneaking glances at me, most likely trying to ascertain my identity. I finally try to break the ice, “Soooo, your name is?” She flinches, turning toward me. “MJ”, she replies hesitantly. “Bucky.” “I know.” “Right..” We stand in silence for a while. Then I hear a boom, and a multi-colored explosion shoots out of the facility. My eyes widen, “I guess that's the signal?” I start running toward the facility, as I run I hear MJ running behind me. I consider telling her to stay behind, but figure it’s her funeral. We reach the door and I see Tasha slip silently next to me, “Took you long enough,” she says and starts walking into the facility. I mutter, “Nice to see you too,” then follow. All of the doors are locked so I take the case that I strapped to my back in the plane off. Natasha raises an eyebrow, “What is that?” I grin, “An RPG.” I blast the door open. There are 10 guards on the other side. Both sides pause for a second, and one guy drops his cup of coffee. The shatter pulls everyone back into reality. I pull a foldable AK47 out and begin firing on the guards. Just as we finish dispatching of the guards, I run out of rounds.Just as the last guard hits the floor, heavy footsteps echo down the corridor. Twenty soldiers in body armor round the corner, carrying riot shields. I hurl the empty rifle at the lead guard. It smashes into the shield with enough force to send him sprawling. I call out Kamala’s agreed upon signal. “You're killing me Smalls!” She appears right next to me, “Here!” She slams her two enlarged fists into the shields, sending the soldiers in the lead flying. As we push the guards back, I hear a clang, then “OH SHOOT,” then Peter falls out of the vent. I catch him, sighing. He looks at me, “Thanks.” I say with a straight face, “Try to use the floor next time.” He grins, “Duly noted.” He then looks around, “Where’s Mayday?” I frown, answering, but am interrupted by bullets pounding the wall near my head. I turn to a closed door and rip it off its hinges. We fall back into the hallway and the door slams shut. Peter immediately wrenches the door back open and sprints through the wreckage of our battle. I yell, “Wrong way!” He calls back, “She’s this way!” I sigh and head after him.
I run down the corridor, possibilities racing through my mind. I stop at a cell door, feeling a slight twinge. I start hacking the control panel, The door slides open and I come face to face with Ivan bleeding in a corner of the cell. I see Mayday leaning against the opposite wall holding a gun. She whips around, seeing me her face hardens slightly. “Hi Dad..” I sigh from relief, “You're OK?” She nods. I start walking toward her. She points the gun at Ivan. I immediately realize what's happening. “Mayday..” She scowls, “Please don’t try to stop me.” I look at her, forcing her to make eye contact. “I think it’s time I tell you this story.” She frowns, but listens curiously. “When I was your age, I had just become spider-man. I wasn’t trying to help people, I was fighting for money. I had just gotten out of a fight, when a man rushed past me clutching stolen money. I ignored him, I said, ‘Not my problem,’ and walked away. This same man killed my Uncle Ben, when he, being the better man, my Uncle tried to stop him. I pause, focusing on her face. "I hunted him down. I wanted him to pay for what he'd done. By the time it was over... he was dead. Whether I meant for that to happen or not didn't matter. I still carried it. "Do you know what changed after he died?" Mayday stays silent. "Nothing. Uncle Ben was still gone. I was still angry. And now I had another thing I'd have to live with." "You don't know what he did to me." She hardens her face more and strengthens her grip on the trigger. Ivan smiles, “Finish it.” I meet her eyes once again, “If you do this, you’ll become what he wants. A killer.” She replies, “I became one long ago.” I stare into her eyes, looking into her heart. “You don’t have to stay one.” She wavers, bites her lip, and slowly, lowers the weapon. Ivan slowly, loses his smile, realizing that he's lost.
Chapter 28
2 days later
We turned Ivan into the Russian government. He never said a word as they took him away. I worry that the Russians will lose control of him again, but know there's no other option. We pull onto Parker's street… My street and I really take in my house for the first time. We step into the house, and I try to remember any childhood experiences in this place. MJ gasps, “Peter! What did you do to our house!” I laugh, smiling at Peter's sheepish expression. I decide that I can't get the past back, but I can make new memories.